Market lab / interactive

The quote
mirror.

Turn an exchange rate around. The units reverse; the percentage change does not simply change sign.

HYPOTHETICAL / NOT LIVE DATA

A / B change

+10.00%

Units of B per one A

B / A change

−9.09%

Units of A per one B

The reciprocal moves from 0.010000 to 0.009091. The percentage changes are not symmetric.

Reverse the units before doing the arithmetic

The inverse quote is 1 divided by the original rate. A move from 100 to 110 is +10%. Its inverse moves from 0.01 to approximately 0.009091, a decline of approximately 9.09%. The denominator changes when you reverse the comparison.

A midpoint illustration

This is a mathematical quote with no spread, fees or execution delay. An actual buy and sell quote has two sides; you cannot invert only the number and ignore those sides. Read the RBA’s explanation of exchange-rate measurement for the underlying conventions.

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